Automatic take-up or spooling device for paper tape or audit trail

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for automatically starting and spooling of paper tape or other record media into roll form on an expandable and rotatable take-up. As the tape is initially fed into a housing, the core is expanded and its friction members engage and cause the tape to wind within itself into a roll of ever decreasing size forcing the core to retract and then wrap around the retracted core. Then continued rotation of the core forms the tape into conventional roll form. Means are also provided for facilitating access to the roll and for separation of the completed roll from the core.

' United States Patent [191 Rafaat AUTOMATIC TAKE-UP OR SPOOLING DEVICE FOR PAPER TAPE OR AUDIT TRAIL 7/1970 Wangerin [11] 3,827,648 [451 Aug. 6, 1974 Dwyer 57 ABSTRACT An apparatus for automatically starting and spooling of paper tape or other record media into roll form on an expandable and rotatabletake-up. As the tape is initially fed into a housing, the core is expanded and its friction members engage and cause the tape to wind within itself into a roll of ever decreasing size forcing the core to retract and then wrap around the retracted core. Then continued rotation of the core forms the tape into conventional roll form. Means are also provided for facilitating access to the roll and for separation of the completed roll from the core.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMIB sum 3.827. 648

sum 1 OF 2" AUTOMATIC TAKE-UP OR SPOOLING DEVICE FOR PAPER TAPE OR AUDIT TRAIL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention This invention relates to take-up means for winding tape and the like into roll form on any mechanism on which data is printed and more particularly to a take-up means for automatically starting and winding of a tape, such as paper tape, onto a take-up core.

Tape, such as paper tape or other record medium, sometimes called the audit trail is commonly used in modern day business machines as a medium for recording information representing business entries, as for example, the transactions entered into a conventional or electronic cash register or any point-of-sale electronic data terminal. The tape is generally maintained in roll form and may contain thousands of such recorded entries stored on this roll.

2. Description of the Prior Art The present practice for starting the winding of a tape onto a core in a data terminal, or any other mechanism having printers which print on a paper tape, is to manually insert the lead edge of the roll into a core and then manually turn the core until the lead edge is caught in the core. Then continued rotation of the spool, either manually, or by the drive mechanism in the terminal, several layers will cause the tape to wind and wrap it itself around the core. This requires a trained operator and is time consuming.

One form of automatic starting and winding of a tape around a core is a vacuum pressure within the take-up core which is vented through the hub of the core. As the leading edge of the tape is directed toward the core, it is drawn by a vacuum tightly against the hub, held there while the core rotates. The vacuum, if maintained sufficiently high, accomplishes the desired automatic wind-up of the tape. However, vacuum pumps and peripheral equipment for producing vacuum and highvolume air flow necessary for such tape mechanisms is expensive, noisy and irritating to the operator and workers in the area.

Another form of automatic take-up of the winding of the tape on the core is the provision of guide members which are positioned around and against the take-up core and as the tape is guided to the core by one of the guide members, friction-gripping elements on the hub grip the tape at points where the tape is held against the hub and tape is then caught and wrapped around the core. When the tape has been wrapped around the core a sufficient number of times to prevent slipping, the pressure exerted by guide members are then released. This form of automatic take-up for tape is expensive, not always reliable and unduly complicated requiring, inter alia, necessary mechanisms moving the guide members to and from the core.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention for automatically starting and winding paper tape into roll form on a core comprises a housing for receiving the paper tape, an expandable core mounted for rotation within the housing and including friction means which initially frictionally engage the tape as it is fed into the housing. With the friction means moving faster than the tape is fed into the housing and with continued movement of the tape for sufficient length, the friction means will cause both the tape and the friction means to decrease radially to form the retracted core with the tape in roll form thereon. This is because the friction of the friction means engaging the tape is greater than the friction between the layers of tape themselves or the housing and the tape. Continued rotation of the core as the tape is fed into the housing causes continued winding of the tape into conventional roll form. Clutch means between the drive for the tape feed and the drive for rotating the core provides a continual tension on the roll for the proper winding of the tape into roll form. Means are also provided for facilitating access to the roll and removal of the core from the completed roll.

. of the housing broken away to show the details of the core in its retracted form;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and also showing in phantom the manner in which access is gained to the inside of the housing and the core by pivotal movement of the lid;

FIG. 3 is a partial elevational view showing the manner in which the core is releasably connected to the lid;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are simplified schematic illustrations of the manner in which the tape is automatically loaded and then wound around the core-these views taken generally along line 4,7-4,7 of FIG. I and looking in the direction of the arrows; and I FIGS. 8 and 9 are alternate versions of the core to facilitate removal of the rolled tape.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning first to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, it can be seen that this invention, indicated in its entirety as 10, comprises a housing or container 12, a core rotatably mounted in the housing, and a gear train 16 connected to the core. The gear train is connected to a suitable drive means (not shown) through shaft 18 to drive the core 14 and the tape feed means 20 in the form of rollers for feeding tape 22.

The housing 12 is divided into two parts-lid 24 and base 26, each with parallel and complementary end walls 28 and 30, respectively, spaced-apart approximately the width of the tape to be spooled. The lid 24 is pivoted about shaft 32 so that the inside of the housing and the core 14 are accessible to an operator.

Centrally of one of the complementary pairs of end walls of the lid and base is a hole 34, half of which is in the end wall 28, to accommodate a bearing 36 for shaft 38 of the core 14. The lid 24 is also provided with a spring-latching mechanism comprising a housing 40 and a pair of springs 42 which resiliently engage slots 44 in the bearing 36. This latching mechanism releasably latches the core thereto so that it will move with the lid when access to the core is desired, yet permit the core to be removed from the housing, if desired.

The lid 24 is also provided with curved sidewalls 46 and 48 which complement a similarly formed sidewall 50 in the base 26 and which, together, form a cylindrical (right circular) configuration for the housing to accommodate the tape roll. The housing is also provided with a throat 52 formed by an extension 56 formed on the wall 46 and another plate 56. The throat 50 has its largest opening facing the supply of tape 22 and its narrowest opening near the entrance to the inside of the housing as at 58 to facilitate the feeding of the tape into the housing.

Core 14 comprises a hub 60 rotatable by shaft 38 which in turn is driven by gear 62 which meshes with and forms part of the gear train 16. A handle 64 is also mounted on the shaft 38 to facilitate handling of the core especially when the core is removed from the housing. The hub 60 is tribifurcated as at 66 (as best seen in FIGS. 4-6) to pivotally connect three fingers 68, 70, and 72 which are free to be subject to centrifugal force, and thus contact the walls 46, 48, and 50 of the housing as well as the tape as the hub rotates. Each of the fingers is provided with a friction element in the form of rubber buttons 74, 76, and 78, which frictionally engage the tape and housing. These fingers forming part of the core expand radially to engage the tape at approximately the center of tape width as the hub is rotated and contract to form the core as such, as the tape is wound therearound.

With the foregoing, attention is now directed to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7 which are schematic illustrations of the manner in which the tape is automatically initially started and then ultimately wound around the core.

FIG. 4 shows the core in its expanded form engaging the tape initially. FIG. 5 shows the core still in its expanded form with one friction element engaging two layers of tape. FIG. 6 shows the tape being gradually gathered so as to wind within itself and showing the core in a partially retracted position. FIG. 7 shows the core in the retracted position with several layers of tape wound therearound.

In operation, the tape is unrolled, usually from another roll (not shown) in a machine, past a printer mechanism (also not shown) and fed by the feeding means (rollers) into the throat 52. As the tape initially enters the housing, the fingers are expanded at their respective friction elements frictionally but slidably engage the tape due to centrifugal force on the rotating core. This action continues for at least one full layer of tape around the side walls until the end overlaps the rest of the tape to begin a second layer as at FIG. 5. At this time, the friction becomes tape-to-tape rather than tape-to-wall as before. As soon as sufficient tape has been fed into the housing, approximately two turns, fingers tend to close up toward the center, such as shown in FIG. 6, due to the faster movement of the fingers than the tape movement at the point of contact. With the fast movement of the fingers and with the sliding friction between the friction elements 74-78 and the tape being greater than the sliding friction between the layers of tape themselves, the tape gradually becomes small in diameter by causing the tape to roll in itself and become tightly wrapped around the core, such as shown in FIG. 7. In this latter figure, it can be seen that the fingers themselves become the retracted core for the spooling of the tape therearound. The speed of the tape entering the housing is controlled by the feed means 20 which is less than the linear speed of the friction element which depends upon the speed of rotation of the core. This control of the linear speeds and the friction phenomena causes the tape to wind within itself and decrease in diameter and completely retract the core into the retracted position. When fully retracted, the speed of the tape and the speed of the friction element are 1:1 and to accommodate this, a suitable one-way clutch (FIG. 1) is interposed between the drive 18 and the gear 62. The continued tendency of the friction element to rotate faster than the tape is being fed also has the additional advantage of providing a suitable tension to form a tight roll of tape without binding.

Continued rotation of the tape will cause, of course, the roll of paper to increase its outside diameter as the end walls 28 and 30 guide the tape edgewise. At the appropriate time, the core can be stopped and the lid 24 opened, bringing both the core and the tape upwardly and outwardly therewith. Removal of the tape roll is simple. The core can be removed from the lid by simply pulling the core and roll against the latching spring 42, thus releasing the core, whereupon the core can be withdrawn from the roll.

It has been found that the friction of the friction engaging means against the inner diameter of the roll is not enough to bind the roll to the core and cause a problem of removal if the rubber-like buttons, as.

shown, are used. However, if desired, the friction engaging means can be undercut, as shown in FIG. 8 at 82 on another embodiment of the friction elements (one shown at 74a), so that rotation of the core opposite to the direction of the original winding will reduce the friction between the inside diameter of the roll on the core and facilitate withdrawal of the roll from the core. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the core 14a may be formed with a release mechanism to facilitate the removal of the roll. In this embodiment of the core, the bifurcations 66a of hub 60a are made slightly larger in a radial direction so that the fingers (68a only being shown) lie parallel to the axis of rotation of the core when the core is fully retracted. Thus, enlargement of these bifurcations accommodates a plunger 84 formed coaxially with the axis of rotation of the core with an enlargement forming a camming means 86 against which the fingers rest when the core is fully retracted, but which also forms a means for releasing the roll by permitting further retraction of the core upon actuation of the plunger. Plunger 84 extends through the hub 60a beyond gear 62a and has an actuating button 88 thereon. Spring 90 serves to maintain the camming means 86 in position so as to maintain the fingers parallel to the axis of rotation when the core is in retracted position but which may be overcome to move the camming means in a direction away from the hub to cause further retraction of the fingers, thus removing friction between the cam and the inside diameter of the roll. When-so retractracted, the removal of the roll is facilitated.

Finally, it should also be noted that while three fingers forming the core have been shown, any number of such fingers may be used; three being the most convenient selection. Further, since the amount of frictional force engaging the housing and the tape is a function of the type and size of frictional means and speed of rotation of the core, the amount of friction can also be controlled by spring to either air in expanding or retracting the core; the selection of springs being dependent upon the needs or desires of the user. Particular example of the fingers in practice has been the tips 74, 76, and 78 of rubber with no springs required with the core operating at the rotational speed of about 400 rpm. so as to give the rubber friction means a linear speed of about 15.7 inches per second at the walls,

which speed gradually decreases as the paper is forming itself into a roll until the inner diameter of the roll equals the diameter of the retracted core, whereupon the speed of the paper and core correlate to the speed of the paper feed at about 3.34 inches per second.

What is claimed is:

l. A take-up means for automatically starting and winding of a tape into a roll comprising:

a housing having walls of a size and shape to hold a roll of tape of a predetermined size;

a take-up core mounted for rotation within said housing including a hub;

a plurality of fingers forming part of said take-up core with said fingers being pivotally connected to said hub and free to move toward the housing walls and having friction means for engaging the housing walls when said housing is empty or partially empty and engaging the tape when inserted into said housdrive means for rotating the take-up core at a speed faster than said tape is fed into said housing so that said friction means continually slip while initially engaging said tape causing said tape to continually tend to form a roll whose inner diameter is continually decreasing by winding within itself to a predetermined diameter.

2. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing has a lid and a base which are separable to permit operator access to the roll.

3. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said lid includes means for releasable attaching said core to said lid to move therewith.

4. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said friction means is provided with an undercut for facilitating removal of said tape roll upon completion of winding thereof.

5. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said take-up core is provided with means for further retracting said fingers for facilitating removal of said roll upon completion of the winding thereof.

6. The take-up means as claimed in claim 5 wherein said retracting means is a camming means operable to hold said friction means into engagement with the inner diameter of said roll during the winding thereof and which upon removal permits further retraction of said friction means to disengage the friction means from the inside diameter of said roll. 

1. A take-up means for automatically starting and winding of a tape into a roll comprising: a housing having walls of a size and shape to hold a roll of tape of a predetermined size; a take-up core mounted for rotation within said housing including a hub; a plurality of fingers forming part of said take-up core with said fingers being pivotally connected to said hub and free to move toward the housing walls and having friction means for engaging the housing walls when said housing is empty or partially empty and engaging the tape when inserted into said housing; drive means for rotating the take-up core at a speed faster than said tape is fed into said housing so that said friction means continually slip while initially engaging said tape causing said tape to continually tend to form a roll whose inner diameter is continually decreasing by winding within itself to a predetermined diameter.
 2. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing has a lid and a base which are sepaRable to permit operator access to the roll.
 3. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said lid includes means for releasable attaching said core to said lid to move therewith.
 4. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said friction means is provided with an undercut for facilitating removal of said tape roll upon completion of winding thereof.
 5. The take-up means claimed in claim 1 wherein said take-up core is provided with means for further retracting said fingers for facilitating removal of said roll upon completion of the winding thereof.
 6. The take-up means as claimed in claim 5 wherein said retracting means is a camming means operable to hold said friction means into engagement with the inner diameter of said roll during the winding thereof and which upon removal permits further retraction of said friction means to disengage the friction means from the inside diameter of said roll. 